- Julio Rodriguez US Customs Broker
- the United States
One national permit, every United States port
Julio Rodriguez US Customs Broker is a licensed customs brokerage holding a national permit, which means we file entries in any United States customs district rather than only the one we sit in. Filer code EWV, our own connection to ACE, two licensed brokers on staff, and 19 years of entries behind it. If your cargo lands in a port where you do not have a broker, that is a problem we were built to solve.
What the national permit actually is
A customs broker's license is issued to a person or a company. A permit is what lets that broker conduct customs business in a place. Historically a broker held district permits and needed one for each district they worked in, which is the reason the trade grew up with a broker in every port city.
The national permit, under 19 CFR 111.19, replaced that arrangement. A broker holding one may conduct customs business anywhere in the customs territory of the United States. It is not a loophole and it is not remote-filing by workaround: it is the permit CBP created because entries stopped being pieces of paper handed across a counter.
Why your broker's address stopped mattering, and what replaced it
Entries are transmitted in ACE, the Automated Commercial Environment. CBP's officers at the port of arrival process what arrives in their queue, and nothing in that queue records how far the broker's office is from the terminal. A well-prepared entry filed from a thousand miles away clears faster than a poorly prepared one filed from the next street.
So the questions that replaced proximity are these. Does the broker hold their own ACE connection, or rent one? Is there a licensed broker actually reviewing the entry, or a clerk running a template? Do they file ahead of arrival? Do they answer the phone when the terminal calls at four in the afternoon? Those are the things that move cargo, and every one of them is answerable before you hire anyone.
Where we file most
Our volume concentrates in Puerto Rico, where our main office is, and in Florida, where our mainland office is. That means the ports of San Juan, Ponce and Mayagüez, and on the mainland Port Everglades, PortMiami, Port Tampa Bay, JAXPORT, Port Canaveral, and the air cargo gateways at Miami International and Orlando International.
It does not mean we are limited to them. A national permit is a national permit, and a Houston or Long Beach or Newark entry is the same filing under the same code. What we will tell you honestly is where we have depth and where we are simply competent, because a broker who claims equal expertise at every port in the country is telling you something that cannot be true.
The agencies behind the entry
Most commercial entries are not only a CBP matter. Food, beverages, supplements, cosmetics and medical devices bring FDA. Plant and animal material, wood packaging and many agricultural goods bring USDA and APHIS. Wildlife products bring Fish and Wildlife. Vehicles bring DOT and EPA. Each of them has its own data set, its own timing, and its own way of stopping a shipment.
We hold direct connections to the partner government agencies as well as to CBP, and we file the agency data alongside the entry rather than discovering it is missing after the cargo has landed. Most of what looks like a customs delay is in fact an agency review that nobody prepared for.
Puerto Rico, which is domestic and is not simple
Puerto Rico is inside the customs territory of the United States, so goods moving between the mainland and the island are not imports and pay no duty. Importers regularly conclude from that, reasonably enough, that nothing needs to be filed. Then they meet the island's own excise tax, the arbitrios, administered by Hacienda through SURI, which is an entirely separate system from anything CBP operates.
Freight arriving in Puerto Rico from abroad clears twice: once with CBP as a normal United States import, and once with the island's treasury. Most mainland brokers hand that second half to somebody else. Our main office is in Cataño, minutes from the Port of San Juan, and we have been doing both halves since 2007.
What to check before you hire any broker, including us
Ask for the license and the filer code, and check the filer code against CBP's list of permitted brokers. Ask whether a licensed broker reviews your entries or only signs off on them. Ask whether the ACE connection is theirs. Ask who you call when a container is held, and whether that person will still be there in a year.
Ask what happens to your power of attorney if you leave. A customs power of attorney is revocable at will and your records are yours; a broker who makes leaving difficult is telling you how they intend to keep you.
Tariff refunds
Paid IEEPA or Section 301 tariffs? Find out what you can get back.
Licensed customs brokers since 2007, filer code EWV. We file your refund under our own license: IEEPA claims through CAPE, protests, post-summary corrections and duty drawback. Priced per entry and quoted before you commit, with no percentage of your refund.
Services
- Tariff Refunds
- Customs Clearance
- Duty Drawback
- ISF Filing
- Customs Bonds
- Customs Exams
- In-Bond and Bonded Moves
- HTS Classification
- Trade Agreements
- PR Excise Tax and SURI
- AES Export Filing
- APHIS Permits
- Warehousing and Distribution
- Freight Forwarding Arrangements
- Binding Rulings
- Duty Payment
- Government Agency Filings
- Compliance and Recordkeeping
FAQ
Can a customs broker file an entry at a port they are not located in?
Yes. A broker holding a national permit under 19 CFR 111.19 may conduct customs business in any United States customs district. Entries are transmitted electronically in ACE, so the filing is identical regardless of where the broker sits.
Where are you located?
Two offices: Cataño, Puerto Rico, which is our main office, and Orlando, Florida. We file nationally from both under one filer code, and we serve Miami daily with an office there in the plans.
Do you file at west coast ports?
Yes, the permit is national. Our depth is in Puerto Rico and Florida and we will say so plainly, but a Long Beach or Seattle entry is the same filing under the same filer code.
What is your filer code?
EWV. It appears on every entry we file and you can check it against CBP's permitted broker list, which is public.
Do you handle FDA, USDA and APHIS filings?
Yes, alongside the customs entry rather than after it. Most delays that importers experience as customs delays are partner agency reviews that were not prepared in advance.
How quickly can we start?
As fast as a power of attorney and a short customer profile come back. There is no charge to open an account, and no minimum volume.
Tell us where your cargo lands
Any United States port, under one filer code. Send us the port and the commodity and a licensed broker will come back to you, in English or Spanish.
CTPAT certified broker · EWV